Explosive Romance
by byakatsu
Summary: Sakura has always been strong, but ever since Naruto went missing, her world has been falling apart. When she runs into a certain Akatsuki member, her hope for finding him is restored, but not without consequence. Will Sakura be able to find Naruto whilst keeping her heart intact? DeiSaku, slight KakaSaku.
1. Chapter 1

Deidara wandered the lonely streets of the miserable little town. He knew he wasn't alone. The civilian he had passed earlier who had eyed his gold necklace had been following him for some time now, but it wasn't as if it were anything to worry about – after all, he was only a civilian.

Deidara sniggered to himself. _This should be fun, yeah_.

He found a small alleyway and lit up a cigarette. He could feel the man draw closer and closer, his untamed chakra running wild with excitement. Deidara loved that about normal humans; unlike ninja, their chakra was crazy, and gave away every emotion they ever felt. Most people knew that, so they didn't like associating themselves with ninja who could read them so well. It amused him, so he never wore his forehead protector anymore, just in case he got bored one day and wanted to play with someone.

As the smoke filled his lungs, Deidara wondered if the man would still be attempting to attack him if he were wearing his Akatsuki robes. Over time he came to realise that when he wore them, no one ever approached him, or even looked at him for that matter, but now that he had to leave them behind for missions more and more trouble had been arousing. It was that stupid Kyuubi brats fault – ever since he went missing, leaf and sand ninja had been searching every corner of the damn world for him, meaning the Akatsuki had to lay low to not attract attention. Deidara hated that – if it were up to him, he'd be turning each and every one of those sad excuses ninja into works of art, but orders from above prevented anyone from making any 'rash' moves.

A laugh sounded from behind him. _And the fun begins_.

Deidara ducked, just in time to dodge the crow bar flying at his head. In one swift movement, he spun on his heel and butt out the cigarette on the man's face, his groan of pain cut off by Deidara grabbing his neck and slamming him against the cold wall.

"You were aiming that for my head, yeah?" He growled. "That kills people, you know?"

Deidara could feel the man tremble underneath his grip. It was pathetic, really. He looked as if he hadn't bathed in weeks, and the concept of shaving had eluded him for all his years. By the looks of him, he supposed that he didn't have a great life himself, but if he thought it was okay to go after Deidara, who knew who else he would attack? Probably some weak, innocent child who wouldn't have the guts to fight back. Deidara, on the other hand, wasn't weak or innocent, and the fact that he already had blood on his hands meant that he wasn't afraid to put someone in their rightful place.

With his free hand, he reached into his clay pouch and chewed up a little clay bug. C1 would do the trick.

The bug leaped onto the man's frail looking shoulder as Deidara let go of his neck. The feeling of relief that filled the man's eyes nearly made him feel guilty for what he was about to do, but he reminded himself that if he hadn't attacked Deidara today, he might have gone after someone helpless, so Deidara was ultimately doing the right thing, right? A laughed escaped his lips as he leapt backwards and glared at the unsuspecting man.

"T-thank you!" He stammered, obviously in too much shock to realise the clay sculpture on his shoulder.

"Shut up." _No turning back now, _he thought to himself, as he muttered 'katsu' under his breath.

The high started from his very core and spread through his body like a wave. He felt warm inside, and it reminded him that being a cold blooded criminal really wasn't that bad if there were no restrictions on what he could do with his art. Although the explosion was small, it sent shivers down his spine with the fleeting image of the small clay sculpture erupting into a powerful destructive force – and it was over in mere seconds. He couldn't help the smile that emerged on his face. _Beautiful._

It was over, and Deidara's thoughts were finally on the situation on hand. The man had fallen to the ground, screaming. His whole face was twisted in pain, apart from his eyes, which were so wide and fixated on the arm that lay by his side in a pool of blood that they looked as if they would pop out any second.

"Get off the ground and get some help, or else you'll die. I hope that losing an arm will prevent you from attacking anyone else who's done nothing to deserve it, hn." Deidara began walking away from the dying man. He was screaming so much that he was bound to attract attention, which meant he had to get out of there faster than he would've originally planned.

"Monster!" He yelled.

"Yeah… I am a monster," he grinned, readying a bird for a quick escape.

"I'll get you for this! I swear I will!" He continued.

"You couldn't even touch me with two arms, what makes you think you'll be able to get me with one?" He taunted. The man muffled a reply back, but Deidara ignored it and hopped on his bird, fleeing the bloody scene.

* * *

Kakashi and Sakura had been running for two minutes already. The large bang, followed by shrieks of pain could be heard from miles away in the desolate town. The pair navigated their way through deserted factories and half destroyed houses to try and reach the scene of the crime in time to save whoever had been hurt. Sakura could feel the victim's unrefined chakra beginning to wane, and the screams had died down, meaning that there wasn't much time left to get to them.

"We have to speed it up," she ordered.

Kakashi nodded. She wasn't usually the one giving orders to him, but in a situation like this which meant life or death for someone, he stepped aside and let her do what she had to.

They had finally reached the final stretch, and they sped up as fast as their feet would allow them. The smell of blood hung in the air, and their eyes searched for any clue to what would've happened. A pool of fresh blood was oozing through the cracks in the street, flowing out steadily from a laneway in between two tall, grey buildings.

"Nobody can lose that much and survive," noted Kakashi, grimly.

As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Sakura was a good medic, but she doubted she would be able to fully heal this person with the current tools she had on her. She could ease his pain, maybe, but it was the end of the road for this poor soul.

They finally reached the alleyway. A man, presumably in his late 30s, lay in a pool of his own blood next to his own burnt, tattered and detached arm. Sakura rushed to his side, ignoring the blood that soaked into the fabric of her clothing. She propped him up on her lap to get a better reach of where his arm once was. He had busted a few arteries, hence all of the blood, but if she was able to slow the blood flow, he could survive for another half hour at most. That would give them enough time to find out what had happened here.

She placed her palm over the affected area and willed her chakra into him, expertly weaving it through his veins, and adding a little extra to dull the pain. Something that would usually be simple to her was now requiring her full attention, as her chakra was running low from travelling for 5 days with minimum rations. A ninja needs food to maintain power, it was a basic rule.

"Kakashi, when he wakes up, I want you to ask him what happened here. I can't do two things at once right now," she instructed.

"Okay. Whatever you need, don't be afraid to ask," he replied.

After a few minutes, the man stirred beneath her. "My… arm…" he murmured. He tried to move, but Sakura held him down.

"Don't try to move. You may feel okay now, but you're not. I'm doing the best I can to keep you alive as it is."

Kakashi spoke up then. "We have a few questions we would like you to answer, so whenever you're ready please let us know."

The man gave Kakashi the best icy glare he could manage in his current state. "Why should I?"

He smiled back, eyes crinkling at the sides. "Because right now your life is in our hands."

"You wouldn't even dare," his voice was barely a whisper, yet he still managed to convey enough attitude to piss Sakura off.

"Sakura?" Kakashi looked at her expectantly. She really didn't want to do this. All he was asking her to do was give the man a little bit of pain, but even so he was a dying man. Admittedly, he seemed like a rude one, but he was still dying. She didn't want to have to do this.

_Whatever you have to do to complete this mission, do it._ Tsunade's words echoed in her mind. She knew in the long run if this man was in fact related to what they were investigating it would help the mission… but was it worth it? If he had nothing to do with their mission, which he most likely didn't, she would be inflicting crippling pain onto an innocent civilian in his dying moments.

Sakura took a deep breath. She was a jounin now. She wasn't as experienced as the others, and compared to other ninja she led a happy, successful life. Tsunade always told her it made her soft and too compassionate for her own good. She knew if she was serious about her job she would do it, but…

Sighing in resignation, she withdrew a little of her chakra. The man's eyes widened and he clenched his jaw. She could tell now he would be feeling an incredible amount of pain, although he was stubborn and refused to show it. If he kept this up, his body would go numb by itself from loss of blood, but that wouldn't be for another ten minutes or so with Sakura still slowing the blood flow. She hoped that he wasn't _that _stubborn, partly for the sake of the mission and partly for his own sake.

A minute passed, and the man finally gave in. "Fine! I'll talk." Sakura smiled to herself and numbed the pain again.

"Good," Kakashi said. "Now, tell me, what happened here?"

"I got into a fight," he replied, simply.

"Clearly. Be more specific." His words were cold. It was a side of him Sakura wasn't used to seeing, but for missions this serious she could see why he had to do it. She knew it must have pained him saying it, considered it pained her just hearing it, but at the same time she felt the urge to cringe away from this Kakashi she didn't recognise.

The man exhaled. "Ha, okay. I tried to attack a guy for his necklace, it looked expensive and I needed the money. He choked me with one hand, while he got some white bug from his pocket and put it on my shoulder. Then it exploded on my arm. Then he flew away on a white bird that came out of nowhere," he explained, half hoarsely, half sarcastically. "You see why I didn't wanna tell you? It isn't exactly the most believable story."

For those few moments, she felt like she could cut through the silence with a knife. The tension in the air was palpable, and Sakura had to do her best not to lose focus. It was all too familiar, and with the look on Kakashi's, face, he felt exactly the same. She shook herself off. _It's just a coincidence. Lots of people use similar jutsu. No big deal._

Kakashi cleared his throat, regaining his cool. "What colour was the man's hair, and how long was it?"

"It was long and blonde," he strained his voice to answer. "He had a side fringe and some of his hair was in a ponytail."

It was the answer she didn't want to hear. The revelation came to quick, leaving her to get lost in her own thoughts at the worst of times. She was half aware of the man starting to cough violently, but she didn't care anymore. No, who he just described was _Deidara_. The hair matched. The jutsu matched. The Akatsuki hadn't been active for two whole years, it couldn't be right…

… But if it was right, there was a chance of her finding Naruto.

Naruto, who had gone missing two years ago, the same time that the Akatsuki became inactive. She refused to believe that he was dead. When Naruto went missing, the Akatsuki had control over four tailed beasts. In the next two weeks, they had gained possession of another 3, and after that, they went dead. Some people believe they got their clutches on Naruto, but Sakura hadn't given up hope. There was no solid proof that Naruto was dead, and as cheesy as it sounded, she felt that if she lost him, one of her best friends, she would know deep in her heart that he was truly gone, but the thread of hope was still there, so she wouldn't give up as easily as everyone else did. She was going to find him, even if it meant she had to turn the whole world inside out.

She didn't care about the mission on hand anymore. All that mattered was finding Naruto.

"Sakura!" she woke from her intent thoughts to Kakashi shaking her violently. The man who she had been treating was coughing up blood and was obviously in a tremendous amount of pain. Without realizing, Sakura's flow of chakra had decreased to a bare minimum, meaning that blood was flowing more freely than before. He had mere minutes to live.

"Shit!" she exclaimed. She needed to stabilize this man or he was going to die, but no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't concentrate. Finding Naruto was the only thing on her mind. Nothing else mattered…

Eventually he went limp, and rolled off of her lap.

_Crap._ "What have I done?" she whispered to herself.

"He was going to die anyway, Sakura. Its fine, we got more important information than what we bargained for," he tried to reassure her, but it wasn't going to work. The guilt of letting this man die filled her brain, along with her thoughts of Naruto and the Akatsuki. Her mind was reeling and her emotions were all over the place, so she did the only thing that seemed right at a time like this; she put her head in her hands, and cried.

She felt a hand on her arm pulling her upward, and suddenly Kakashi's arms were around her.

"It's okay," he said, "we'll go get you cleaned up, and then we'll find Deidara. We'll be one step closer to Naruto. This was _all_ worth it, I promise." Each one of his words just made Sakura sob harder into his chest. Gestures like this were rare, but Sakura didn't find them strange. After all, they were the final two original members of team 7, over the past couple of years they had grown closer, confiding in each other with things that would never grace the ears of anyone else, and despite the fact that she was crying like a baby, he truly did make her feel better. He was like the big brother she never had.

"Come on," he urged gently. "We can go find a motel to check into." Sakura nodded silently, and they went on their way.

* * *

Deidara looked out of the window of his motel room. It had been a boring week so far. He and Tobi were on business in town meeting some guy who wanted to fund the Akatsuki for a little bit of power. Deidara hated these kinds of missions; it was usually Hidan and Kakuzu who took care of money business, but ever since they both died, teams had been taking turns doing the missions that would usually be assigned to them. Deidara hoped that leader would hurry up and find some new rouge ninja to join, he said he had been looking for nearly a year now, but nobody met his incredibly high standards yet. Deidara just wanted someone to take care of these stupid, boring money jobs.

They had been here longer than usual, which really pissed him off. It looked like a dirty old town, but the large, windowless factories and seemingly deserted houses made for great underground businesses and drug trade. Deidara was seriously tempted to try some of their shit out, he was that bored. He knew if he really wanted to, he could get some without even having to pay a cent considering his status as a member of the most feared criminal organization in the ninja world, but that tiny little piece inside of himself that was still slightly civilized told him it was best not to get into those things, especially at such a young age. Plus, he had an early start tomorrow, and he wouldn't want to be going out looking half dead the next day.

He focused his attention on a couple walking along the street, probably going for some romantic night walk. He figured this would be the best place to take one in this foul place anyways; they were on the outskirts of town, and the other side of the street was just a long plain of grass stretching out as far as the eye could see. Not the prettiest place, but a nice change of pace from the usual scenery around here.

Even so, the couple didn't look very happy, their faces were grim and the woman was covered in blood. _Wait, what the fuck?_ He thought to himself. Getting closer to the window and squinting a little bit, he noticed that yes, indeed, the woman was covered in blood. Clearly not her own, which made it even weirder. The man had a little patch of red on him now and then, but it wouldn't have been totally noticeable had he not been accompanied by the girl. He watched them, and realized that they were heading to the motel, too.

He stared at them intently, and then something clicked. Deidara's eyes widened and he ducked down from his windowsill as fast as he could. He had to get Tobi, and fast.

He raced out of his room and flew down the stairs as fast as he could. On the first floor of the motel was a bar that was surprisingly packed for the small size of it. His eyes scanned the room for Tobi, who shouldn't be that hard to find considering he was probably the only one in the bar wearing a bright orange mask. Sure enough, he was one of the first people Deidara spotted. He was sitting at a table by himself, with a full plate of food just begging to be eaten.

He nearly delayed what he was going to just to see Tobi take his mask off to eat, but he thought that it probably wasn't the best time for that, so he made his way through the crowd as speedily as he could, earning himself a few annoyed glances from some of patrons that he'd accidently knocked.

"Deidara senpai! What brings you down here? Ooooh, have you come to eat with me?" he danced around, his oversized sleeves dipping in his food dish a couple of times without him realizing. Deidara suppressed the urge to gag.

"No. We need to get out of here now, yeah." he tried to give Tobi the best 'I'm not freakin' kidding right now' face he could manage, but by the looks of things it wasn't working.

"But s-senpai! I just got my meal, that's no fair." He crossed his arm over his chest, and Deidara could sense the pout that was under his mask.

The bell signalling that the front door was opening rung and Deidara gave the quickest glance to confirm his suspicions. _Damn it, they're here._ He gazed at Tobi who was still acting like a fool as always. _We have no time for this. _Deidara grabbed Tobi by the arm and dragged him towards the stairs. They were mostly ignored, considering that all eyes were on the bloodied up pair that had just entered, but he could almost guarantee that the two people that they were trying to avoid would've seen them anyway.

"Get your stuff and meet me outside," he ordered. "I trust you saw who just entered the bar."

"I didn't see anyone, but I trust my senpai to be guiding me the right way!" He gave Deidara a salute, before heading off to his room.

Deidara rushed off into his room too, and gathered all the stuff he could, while simultaneously munching up a chakra bird to carry it all. Once he was finished, he launched the bird out the window and jumped on. Scanning the area, he deemed it safe and landed his bird behind a large cluster of bushes, concealing himself from anyone who would otherwise be able to see from the windows.

"Deidara-senpaaai! I'm stuck." He didn't even bother trying to look. _They had no time for this._

"Tobi, you fool. Get down already."

Tobi giggled and appeared next to him. "Kidding!"

"Jump on the bird," Deidara instructed. "I'll explain everything while we're making our escape."

"There isn't going to be an escape to make," a stern voice spoke from beyond the bushes that they were concealed it. Ducking his head around, Deidara cursed himself for not realizing that the two of them had pursued them outside of the hotel. The Akatsuki's cover had been blown.

"Deidara! Look, it's the copy ninja and his little pink student. What are they doing here?" Tobi cried.

"That's what I was trying to warn you about, yeah," Deidara sighed. "What kind of joke is this? Staying in the same motel as some goody goody leaf nin that we've avoided for two years? Ridiculous."

"Actually," started the girl, "We came here because we sensed your chakra. We've been looking for you all day, but we weren't expecting to find you with your partner."

_What? _Deidara's eyes widened, but he regained his calm in a matter of seconds, and put on his signature smirk. "Hn, so I guess you're looking for a battle, but seeing the state you're in now I wouldn't think you'd put up much of a fight." He looked her up and down. Up close, although it was still clear the blood was not her own, but it was also clear that she was fatigued and tired, probably from an intense battle that used up large amounts of chakra.

"No," she murmured, "we don't want to fight. We want to know about Naruto, and what you've done to him. After that, we'll let you go." Her voice was low, and you could tell she wasn't fond of the idea. Heck, Deidara wasn't even fond of the idea. He did want to keep Akatsuki's cover and actions on the down low, mainly for fear of what would happen to him if he didn't obey the rules, but if there was a chance to fight then he was going to be one to turn it down.

Still, he might still get what he wanted. "I don't know anything about what that pathetic little monster is up to these days. I want to find him just as much as you do, little girl." Deidara grinned, seeing the pinkettes facial expression grow grim. Just one little push would do it. "If you asked me, he's probably lying dead somewhere, yeah. Wouldn't you agree, Tobi?"

"Don't lie to me!" She growled at him from deep in her throat and her blood covered fists were clenched tightly by her sides. She looked as if she were about to launch herself at him, but Kakashi put his hand on his shoulder, stopping her. Taking a deep breath, she regained her cool and continued on. "You're more of a monster than Naruto will ever be. The demon inside him doesn't define who he is, it's his actions do, and if you ask me, the Akatsuki's actions are far more monstrous than any jinchuuriki's ever were."

Deidara raised an eyebrow. "If you say so, yeah. Well, if that's all, I think we'll be on our way." He glanced behind him to Tobi, who started making his way toward Deidara and the bird.

"If you don't tell me what you know about Naruto, I swear to the heavens that I will beat it out of you." It was obviously unexpected and not part of their plain, because the copy nins face lit up with surprise, but when he opened his mouth to say something, she stopped him with an icy cold sidewards glance.

Deidara grinned as excitement rose inside him. He was finally getting what he wanted. He rose up on the bird, leaving Tobi to fight his own fight.

"_Let's go then."_

* * *

Authors note: So I'm hoping this has basically set the scene for the rest of the story. Everything will of course be explained in more depth the further we get into the story, but hopefully I've made it mysterious enough so far to keep you guys interested. I may be a little rusty as I only just went back to school this week, so my writing will probably be a little unrefined, but I checked over it a few times and tried to make it to the best of my abilities.

Its M right now for blood, gore, ect but I may put smut in later chapters.

Any rates and reviews would be appreciated so I know what I can improve on for future chapters.

Just a side note, as its set two years in the future Sakura is now 18, Deidara is 21 and Kakashi and Tobi would be early to mid-thirties I believe. I set this up so Naruto going missing was after Kakuzu and Hidans death and before Deidara's (as you can probably tell), which means any event after their death didn't happen, apart from the collection of three new tailed beasts as I stated in the chapter.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading it! Xxx


	2. Chapter 2

_She was running along the grass plain, quick on her feet to keep up with the man who was flying above her. She felt sick and fatigued, in no state to fight at all. That was why Kakashi had suggested only talking at first, then placing a tracking jutsu on them so that they could fight later. It was a bad idea, thinking back on it, but it was also a bad idea to challenge an S-rank criminal to a fight when she didn't even know if her body would be able to hold out._

_Even so, determination was set on her features and she pushed herself harder than she ever had before. This was the most important task she had ever been assigned to. Sakura had long accepted that Sasuke was not coming back to the village, as he chose to leave. Naruto, on the other hand, was a mystery. Nobody knew what happened to him, and this was her one chance to find out._

_Apparently choosing where it was he wanted to fight, Deidara came to a stop, hovering in the air above her. They were in a completely open area, with only a few trees dotted here and there. They must have been at least a kilometre out from the village, which was good considering that no buildings would be destroyed, but also bad for her, as she had lost track of her partner ages ago, and was not only worried for his sake, but for her own._

_"Just come down here and tell me what you know about Naruto!" She yelled up at him, deciding that a little bit of intel and a criminal on the loose was probably better than no intel at all, a dead Sakura and a criminal still on the loose. Her confidence was beginning to falter, as when they stopped her breath had finally caught up with her, making her resist the urge to clench at her stomach and gasp for air. "There's no need for this to happen. I'm fine with the Akatsuki the way they are, but what I'm not fine with is my best friend missing. I just want to know what happened to him, please!" _

_"Sorry, girly, but I have no idea what happened to that precious boyfriend of yours, yeah," he said, with a cocky smirk gracing his face. "As you said before, you're going to have to beat it out of me. I look forward to seeing what you can do." And with that, he threw 6 small chakra clay bugs at her. She leapt backwards in time to avoid the explosion, but the commotion and smoke had given him a chance to fly another explosive bird her way._

_She fell to the floor, at her own accord, feeling the massive heat of the explosion on top of her back, as the deafening sound made her cringe and cover her ears._

This isn't good,_ she thought. _I'm completely on the defensive, not to mention the only jutsu I can manage right now is a chakra infused hit, which wouldn't reach him unless I jumped… But if I jumped, I'd be vulnerable to a direct his from his bombs.

_She groaned, and lifted herself into a crouching position. Deidara was up in the sky, laughing like a maniac, yelping something about 'art'. She nearly laughed, _old habits die hard.

_She grabbed a few shuriken and flicked them his way, hoping to catch him of guard as he was in his little art frenzy. Needless to say, they were dodged without even a second look._

_What was there left to do? Sakura scanned the field. There was nothing she could use for weapons, and nothing she could use to get closer to him without increasing her chances of getting hit. Her eyes fixated on a tree, about 50 metres away. _What could I do with that?_ She wondered. Even if she didn't have anything to think of now, it was her only hope, so she sprinted off in direction of the large, Christmassy tree._

_"Ha! Did my art scare you away? Hn. And here I was thinking that you would be a good fight." He said, arrogance radiating from him more strongly than ever._

_She kept running. It wasn't far now, if she could only just…_

Bang! _She heard the sound before she felt the pain. It was her right leg. She turned her gaze to see what had happened to it, and thanked the gods that it was still in one piece._

_One very, very bent up piece._

_Sakura's weight shifted and she fell, unable to keep herself standing. She couldn't use medical ninjutsu in the middle of a battle, as it would leave her wide open for more attacks. But what else was there to do?_

_She didn't have time to think, as another clay sculpture, this time in the shape of a lady bug, flew towards her. Sakura managed to dodge by rolling over, but she still caught the impact of it on the same side that had the damaged leg._

_What the hell was she going to do? She was in out of her mind to challenge him to a fight. She was hopeless against him. There was nothing she could do, apart from hope that he got close to her, which was obviously not going to happen considering he was a long range specialist._

_Her gaze shifted to the tree she had been running for. If only she could…_

_That was it. Sakura's last chance. Getting up, she limped as fast as she could towards it._

_"You still trying to run away, hn? That's pretty fucking pathetic." Sakura was glad he was so cocky and oblivious to what she was attempting to do, as he took his time trying to counter measure it. She must admit, she was pretty damned embarrassed, but then again what did image even matter if you were facing death in the face? It didn't matter at all, and that's what kept Sakura going until the very last second, even if her leg was searing with pain beyond belief. She had to take it, it was her last chance._

_She finally reached the tree, and took a second to rest herself on it. She figured that resting would be fine considering that right now Deidara was just laughing at her and not bothering to show her any more of his 'artworks.' She took in a deep breath, and wrapped her arms around the tree. He would soon realise that she was up to something, so this had to be fast._

_She willed every last ounce of her chakra into the one, pulling motion, and the tree reluctantly made its way out of the ground. Sakura fell after that, her one working leg not being able to support the full weight of her _and _massive tree._

_She would have to use her arms and her arms alone. It would be hard, throwing something without any leg support, but it would have to do._

_She was running incredibly low on chakra, and she could already see Deidara readying a bomb to throw at her, so this had to be fast. _

_She yelled from the bottom of her throat, made one, ungraceful movement, and with 80% muscle, 20% chakra, she launched the tree into the air._

_It flew towards him. He had barely any time to react, as an object with that much weight wouldn't take its dear time to fly through the sky, but he still managed to fly out of the way, shocked look turning into one smug little smirk._

_Sakura wore a smirk of her own. She was about to pass out, but she had one last trump card before she let herself go. _

_She pulled the chakra string she had attached to the tree, and it knocked Deidaras bird from behind. He stumbled off the sculpture, with a string of swears. Sakura let the string go, and let out a series of exhausted pants._

_Just as Deidara was about to hit the ground, Sakura tried her hardest to get up so she could make her slow getaway, but the impossible happened._

_The bird swooped up from behind him, and caught him on its back._

_"_Fuck,_" breathed Sakura. "Fuckfuckfuckfuck."_

_The bird continued flying at a low altitude, and that was when Sakura realised it was headed straight for her. Panic filled every ounce of her body, and in desperation she tried throwing a few more shuriken in his direction, but to no avail. It was over. It was really, truly over._

_Deidara landed before her, flicking his hair to reveal his scope for a split second. If he weren't about to kill her, she might think he were a little handsome. Maybe if he lost that cocky attitude of his. "You know what, girl? I like your determination, yeah. I must admit, you weren't that much fun, but I just thought I would let you know. Maybe I'm taking pity on the weak by praising you in your last moments." He sniggered, "Yeah, that must be it." _

_He opened his mouth to continue, but Sakura threw a shaky fist in his direction, which he caught with ease. "See what I mean? There's that determination, hn."_

_"Shut up," she growled. She felt something nibble at her fist. _What the fuck does he think he's doing?_ "And stop fucking biting me you freak!" _

_He let go of her hand, and plummeted his own mouthy hand into that pocket of his. She knew that that pocket was full of clay, and that meant that it really was her final moments._

_She raised her fist again, only to be ignored this time._

_"Hn. Stupid little girl," he muttered, dodging the punch that flew his way without even blinking an eye._

_He looked her straight in the face, blue eyes sparkling with what seemed to be desire. A manic smile graced his mouth, and he made a hand sign._

_Sakura hadn't even noticed him finishing the bomb up, proving just how powerless she was at this very moment. She franticly scoured her body to find it, but she was too late._

_"Katsu!" Deidara yelled. The last thing she saw was his deranged face, laughing hysterically as the sound of the bomb blasted her ears. Then all she could see was black._

Sakura woke from her hospital bed with a jolt, supressing a scream. It had been three longs days since the fight that took place Kojogakure with Deidara and Tobi, and every night since then, she had had the same vivid dream, over and over and over. It reminded her to never be so careless with S-rank criminals again, especially when she wasn't in good condition. She had never been so damned close to death in her life, but luckily, Kakashi had been unharmed in his fight, so he had come to her aid.

Of course, Sakura was far from unharmed. She had no idea why Deidara hadn't finished her off, but she had awoken on Kakashi's back as they fled the town to avoid any further confrontations. On the second day on their way back from Kojo, Sakura was reversed summoned back to Konoha. Apparently Kakashi had sent word to Tsunade that Sakura wasn't in a fitting condition for a mission, and requested for her to be summoned by Katsuyu so Tsunade could take a look at her for any serious injuries.

It turns out that she had severe chakra depletion, and a not-fully-healed yet broken leg, plus some third degree burns. She had attempted to heal her leg and burns on their way home, but she wasn't strong enough to do so, as the fight took the last of her stamina out of her. Apart from that, Tsunade said that Sakura had to cheer up; she thought that she seemed too depressed, although it wasn't like that would have an impact on the healing process.

When Sakura had asked what would happen to Kakashi, Tsunade had said that she sent another squad of larger numbers this time to meet him half way, so they could finish what had barely been started by Kakashi and Sakura. They had only sent a two man squad before because the mission required discreetness, but with news of the Akatsuki, Tsunade hadn't wanted to take any more risks – the Hidden Leaf was in enough danger as it was.

Before they had fled, they were investigating a supposed source in Kojo leaking information about Konoha to the other hidden villages. Nobody knew how Kojo even had that kind of information – they had once attempted to become a ninja village, but the tiny size of the town, plus the fact that the area was barely suited for normal humans to live there, let alone ninja, the venture was short lived, lasting less than three years, but even in those short three years, Kojo had no contact whatsoever with Konoha. Whatever was happening over there was no short of a mystery, and to be quite honest, it sent chills down Sakura's spine. She hoped Kakashi got out of there okay.

A slight creak brought Sakura's sights on the hospital door, and a tall, fit blonde entered, accompanied by a bouquet of colourful flowers.

She entered, but stopped mid-way to the bed with a surprised look on her face.

"Oh, Sakura! You're awake, I'm so glad," without a second thought, Ino rushed to the chair next to the bed and placed the flowers on the bedside table.

"I wasn't even asleep in the first place," Sakura smiled.

"I know, I know, but apparently you were real beat up in that fight, or at least that's what I heard. I thought you'd be out like a light," she gushed. "But I'm glad you're not. Are you okay?"

Sakura groaned. _Great_. It had been a day since she got back to the village and already people had word of her humiliating defeat. How did anyone even know? She had only told Shizune and Tsunade the specifics, and even then she hadn't gone into much detail. _Maybe it was in Kakashi's message,_ she wondered.

"Yes, I'm fine. I would have beaten the pants of that guy if I already wasn't running low on chakra. Did you know that the only reason we found them was 'cause of a guy on his deathbed told us that Deidara was the one who blew his arm off? I spent most of my chakra trying to heal him, plus we had been on the road with limited food supplies and I forgot to bring my damn food pills! But I swear I'm gonna get him for what he did to me," Sakura rambled, getting out a tiny little piece of her pent up feelings.

Ino smiled. She was usually a little bitch, but when she knew people needed comforting she was always the one to go to. "Why don't you tell me how you really feel?"

Sakura laughed lightly, despite herself, and silence hung in the room. It wasn't awkward, but she was pretty sure neither of them knew what to say. The Akatsuki was a touchy topic nowadays.

"So…" Ino started, after a couple of minutes. "I was wondering what you found out about Naruto. Everyone in the village is on edge." Her voice was soft, and she was looking down. "I-I'm sorry. I know it must be hard to talk about, so don't feel pressured or anything."

Sakura managed a light smile and tried her best 'I'm okay' face, even if she was lying in a hospital bed. "We didn't find out much at all. That's the whole reason I fought him in the first place; to get information. I'm sure you can see how well that went."

Ino's already-sad face dropped even further. She was never one of the ones who outright said that Naruto was obviously dead, but she wasn't a firm believer that he was alive, either. I think, like most of the Konoha ninja, she was searching for a reason to believe that he was still alive. Naruto was one of the most irritating, stupid idiots that anyone had ever met, but somewhere along their long journey he had made his way into their hearts. Ino and her team were very attached as well, obviously not as much as Sakura, but they all had felt in debt to him for helping them take down Kakuzu and avenge their well-loved sensei. Now that Naruto was lost, the whole of Konoha was like a big puzzle, missing the one piece in the middle. It wasn't right at all.

"It's alright, Ino," Sakura tried to reassure her, although her inner turmoil was probably a lot more than Ino's. "We got information that the Akatsuki are still active. It's invaluable, and it will help the shinobi world in the long run. Don't be down."

Ino smiled back. Sakura knew it wasn't real, but even a fake smile was better than nothing, right?

* * *

Deidara sighed as he walked through the final entry doors of the Akatsuki's main base. He understood why they took so many precautions secure the place, but it was pretty fuckin' irritating if he did say so himself. The first door had a key pad with a 7 letter long password. Once you entered, it looked like a run down, abandoned hotel. The next bit was Deidara's least favourite, the elevator. It required another complicated password punched into the elevator floor keys, or else after a minute a trap door would open that lead to the dungeons. Thinking back, Deidara remembered his first few years of the Akatsuki getting stuck down there a couple of times and having to call for help. Needless to say, he memorised that password pretty fast. The last entryway was at the floor the elevator opened up to – a simple door that required an Akatsuki ring and face recognition to pass.

After that last door, the battered down, dirty old hotel opened up to a whole new world. At first, all you saw was a long hallway, with regal carpets and old paintings that Deidara had to disdainfully acknowledge the beauty of. The hallway had no doors coming off it, but once you reached the end there was a large living room, still covered in elegant carpets, with old but quality couches facing a fireplace with a TV living on top of it. There were other things too, like tables and general stationary supplies that nobody used, but all in all it was a large empty room. There were two doors on the opposite side of the room, and Deidara knew from memory that one held entertainment and research facilities, and one held bedrooms.

He walked through the lounge, scanning the area for any signs of anyone being home. Tobi had left him to go eat at one of the nice little restaurants that the village offered, but Deidara had declined his offer to go – he usually would not have turned down the chance to go out, but it was particularly rainy today, more than usual for the Hidden Rain Village at least. It looked like it would hail, and Deidara was tired and fatigued even if the mission they had just finished hadn't taken much out of him.

After the realization that no one was here, or at least in this area, Deidara fell back against the couch, arms draping over either side of the couch.

He figured he should've put the fire on before he'd gotten himself comfy, but at least the TV remote was sitting next to him on the sofa.

He flipped on the TV, and of course none other than the Ninja News was on.

The news lady was some frail looking lady from Kumogakure was speaking, and before Deidara could flip the channel to something else, the words she spoke caught his attention.

"And a warning to all shinobi out there; the Akatsuki have been confirmed to be active and still together. According to multiple sources, a fight ensued with two Hidden Leave shinobi. Well known member Deidara, and his partner, known as Tobi, were spotted and soon begun battling with the said Leaf shinobi. Whilst the Leaf were defeated, there were no casualties or serious injuries. We believe that this is Akatsukis way of revealing themselves yet again. No further details are known – but we warn Shinobi of all lands to stay safe and –"

Deidara switched off the television with a barrage of swear words. How the _fuck_ had that already gotten out? Those stupid ninja brats shouldn't even be home yet! When leader finds out about this…

"I see," a monotone voice sounded from behind him. Deidara had to supress the urge to swear again. How the hell did that guy conceal his presence so well? "Well, Deidara, it seems you have blown our cover."

"I didn't mean to, Leader, yeah," Said, Deidara, turning around to face the pierced man. He tried to sound as calm as possible, but he could practically hear himself tremble. "They were just in the same town as us, we had no choice."

"It is of no matter anymore." Said Pain, looking ahead at nothing in particular.

Deidara was dumbfounded. "Huh?"

"It does not matter anymore. We were hiding for a reason, and that reason is now no more." Pain met his gaze. "But let this be a warning. Do not make a habit of breaking our rules, Deidara."

Deidara let out a breath he didn't even realise he was holding in. "Yes, Leader."

"I have come to tell you that there will be an Akatsuki meeting on in five days, giving everyone time to get back home and be here in person. Be there at exactly 7 pm in the meeting room."

Deidara's mind was reeling, full of questions he knew would be left unanswered for a few days because he was too afraid to ask Leader what all this nonsense was about. For one, he didn't get in trouble for disobeying orders, and now they're having a full Akatsuki in person meeting? They hadn't had one of those in nearly a year! Something must be up, and Deidara was longing for answers, but he knew he could not get them. Instead, he simply said "Yes, Leader," obediently.

With that, Pain walked back towards the hallway, leaving eerie footsteps in his wake.

* * *

Okay, first of all, do you guys prefer the spelling 'Pein' or 'Pain'? I'm using Pain for now because my computer processes it better, but in the long run it's up to you guys!

Sorry not much interesting happened this chapter, but I'm going to defs kick start things next chapter, which will be out soon!

Reviews would be appreciated so I know what I can improve on and what not.

Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter xx


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